


How to Trust

by StarryNights76



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Chat also has superpowers- isn't a superhero tho, F/M, Kinda, Ladybug is the only superhero, RIP Tom and Sabine, Robin Hood References, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryNights76/pseuds/StarryNights76
Summary: Marinette has gone 33 years without a soulmate. And now she has two?





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette slapped her alarming alarm clock and opened her eyes blearily.  
"6:30 already?" she moaned, throwing a foot out of bed and pulling herself up.  
She stepped on a cushy, creamy white rug that matched her newly painted off-white walls. The walls were bare except for a picture of her parents and a corkboard where her calendar hung, its pages flipped to April.

  
She dragged her sleepy self to her wardrobe and climbed into some grey track pants, white high-tops and a fitted white t-shirt with the logo _Tom & Sabine's _ plastered on the front. Her face was unwashed and her hair untamed, so she made her way to the bathroom and washed up before throwing on an apron and opening her trapdoor to go down to the bakery.

Manon, a recent high school graduate who'd decided to wait a year before enrolling in culinary university, was already in the bakery, putting croissants on shelves and fixing price labels and display cases. Marinette gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head then walked to the bakery's front door where she flipped the _Sorry, We're Closed_ sign to _Yes, We're Open._

She let out a wide-mouthed yawn as she walked back to the kitchen. Manon was taking loaves of bread out of the oven, the smell wafted through the air like a fresh summer breeze. Marinette took a deep breath, then clapped her hands.  
"MANON!" she snapped. Manon stood up tall, dropped the oven mitts and looked Marinette dead in the eyes.  
"Yes, Ma'am?"

Marinette nodded at Manon's reaction and continued on, pacing back and forth along the kitchen floor as she did so.  
"Mr. Kubdel's sister's cake needs to be done and fully decorated for tomorrow. Also," she said, looking over at some cupcake tins, "we need about nine dozen cupcakes for the Lycee's Ladybug celebration tonight."  
The teenager nodded.  
"And-"  
Manon held up a finger.  
"What?" Marinette spat.  
"Ma'am if I may-" Manon started, shyly.  
Marinette motioned for her to continue, but a frown pulled at her lips.  
"Could you-" Manon gulped, "C-could you be on register duty today? I'd like to get a feel for cake building and the creative side of the process."

A wave of silence overtook the room albeit the hiss of the kettle, which was to be used for Marinette's morning coffee without which she was a cranky troll. Manon squirmed like a scared rabbit while Marinette's glare burned holes through her confidence. Finally, after a couple of minutes, and a cup of coffee, Marinette spoke.

"Yes, I can. Today, I will run the register."  
Manon's face broke out into a smile, the sight of which caused Marinette's frown to deepen.  
"However," she said. Manon's smile disappeared. "It isn't my job to run the register, it's _yours,_ that's what I pay you for. Do not expect me to do your job for you again. I let you help in the kitchen, recreate my recipes and try your own stuff, as is my choice. Many bakers only let their apprentices do menial tasks like taking out garbage or holding the door for customers. Please consider this when you make your next request."

Marinette's eyes blazed a cold hard blue. Manon opened her mouth to apologize and offer to be on register duty when a bell circulated through the bakery and Marinette left, a scowl on her face, to tend to their first customer of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette hadn't found her soulmate yet. It was almost unheard of, a thirty-something-year-old woman without the love of her life by her side. Not to mention she hadn't found a choice soulmate either, which meant her soulmate wasn't dead, too far away in the world, a murderer or you know... evil. So either her soulmate was actively avoiding her or she didn't have a soulmate.

But that was impossible, _wasn't it?_  
Tikki had once said that she hadn't had a Ladybug before Marinette who didn't have a soulmate.  
"Ladybug is one half of a whole," she'd explained, "like Ying and Yang. Your other half is out there somewhere. He has to be."  
And Marinette had asked if what she'd said was true, why hadn't Ladybug found her soulmate yet?  
"Well," the kwami had continued patiently, "Soulmate Magic doesn't work while you're suited up. If you meet eyes with your civilian soulmate as Ladybug, he would know at once, but you would be clueless. It's there so that accidents can happen. For example, a Ladybug who hasn't found her soulmate yet, like you, won't be unwilling to fight an Akuma who's soulmate because she won't be able to tell that he's her soulmate."  
Unfortunately, that meant that she couldn't have a Ladybug meet-and-greet to try and find her soulmate. As of now, she just hoped she could find friendships and happiness elsewhere even if she could never find love.

A sneeze echoed through the room causing Marinette to shake out of her thoughts and turn to the customer with a smile on her face.  
"Welcome to Tom and Sabine's!" she said in a breezy tone.  
The customer, a man with sandy blond hair, nodded without sparing her a glance, looking instead at some brightly coloured macarons.

Marinette looked at the man, perplexed, then ducked down under the counter to grab her laptop. Her kwami flew over to her ear. Tikki had a cookie in hand and crumbs covered her small face.  
"Marinette," she said, "any Akumas now?"  
Marinette shrugged her shoulders, "Not any that have been reported on the Ladyblog so, No."  
Tikki smiled, "More time for me to eat cookies then."  
Marinette closed her laptop and put it back.  
"Tikki," she motioned to the cookie stand, "Hide, and don't eat so much." She poked a finger at Tikki's tummy playfully. "Someone's putting on some weight!" Tikki swatted her hand away and grinned before flying off to the cookie stand.

  
Marinette stood up and brushed off her apron. Her smile disappeared when she saw the blond-haired man.  
"Monsieur!" she exclaimed, rushing around the counter. "Monsieur!"  
The man froze, caught in the act of stuffing macarons into his briefcase, and then he bolted.

  
He used his free non-briefcase-holding arm to push open the door and ran out into the street. Marinette wasn't far behind.  
"Monsieur!" she yelled as they dashed up a sidewalk, "Get back here!"  
They sprinted up Rue Gotlib, ducking their fellow Parisians and unsuspecting tourists. Then she followed him into an alley.  
It was a dead end, a stone wall barred the path ahead.  
Marinette huffed triumphantly.

"How dare you!" she yelled to the man whose back was turned. "How dare you come into my bakery and steal my food."  
Marinette heard a grunt, then the man turned around slowly, carefully, without looking at her, he laid down the briefcase in front of her. Then slowly, his hands went up, and he sank onto his knees, his head bowed, before her.

"Look at me!" she ordered.  
The man's head came up, it was covered from the dimple in his lip to his hairline with a black mask, even his eyes were covered, but by the way his head was tilted and the fashion of which he licked his lips, it was obvious what they were focussed on.

Marinette's eyes grew wide and she crossed her arms over her chest.  
"Y-you PER-" she stammered, throwing her shoe at him.  
The man didn't skip a beat, in an instant, he was up on his feet and his finger covered her lips with a whispered _"Shh."_

Marinette's jaw dropped at his nerve.  
"Ah-ah-ah," he said, using that same finger to push her chin up. "Wouldn't want you to _cat_ -ch flies now would we?" His voice was deep, a warm and thick honey sound.  
He handed Marinette back her shoe, picked up his briefcase, and leapt, with the agility of a cat, onto the stone wall that was at the end of the alley.

Marinette stood there in a daze, holding a white high-top in her hand, staring in wonder and anger at the man perched on the wall.  
The man shot her a salute and whistled a high clear tune _Do-ti-so-la_

"Hey!" Marinette yelled, coming out of her daze to run to the wall.  
The man's smirk only grew wider.  
"Hey!" she repeated, banging on the wall with her sneaker.  
"Hey," he yelled back, "Thanks for the snack!"

Marinette glanced up at him, appalled.

He smiled down at her and took off his mask. Below it was another mask, this one covered only the space around his eyes and the cat ears that she'd thought were a part of the first mask remained stuck on top of his head.

"To remember me by," he said as he tossed it down to her. And then, with a wink of his emerald green eyes, he was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Soulmate. That's what the little voice inside her head said when she saw the green gems of the macaron thief.

She thought about it while she walked back to the bakery, her fingers rubbing absent-mindedly over the black mask.  
Websites she'd skimmed had said that one could only tell who their soulmate was when they looked them in the eyes. It didn't work over the television or in photos, but it worked over video call and of course, in person. It was that last part that made Marinette frown. She'd met _and met eyes with_ everyone in her neighbourhood 'til as far as Le Grand Paris Hotel, The Agreste Mansion, The Lycee, The Eiffel Tower and back, so who was mysterious green eyes? It wasn't as though he could have been trapped inside his house the entire time, or off stealing baked goods every time she made door to door rounds, under the pretense of giving away hot loaves of bread but really searching for her soulmate. Perhaps he had been studying abroad, Marinette thought as she pushed the bakery door open.

"Marinette!" a disgruntled voice called, shaking the woman out of her thoughts.  
"I thought you said I didn't have to man the register, where'd you disappear to?"

Manon had flour in her hair and thin rubber gloves, the ones they used for kneading dough, were tucked in her apron pocket.

"Sorry," Marinette said, scratching the back of her head with her empty hand, "I'll take over now Manon,"

The teen frowned and pointed to her watch. Marinette leaned over and peered at the time.  
"Damn," she said, laying the mask down on the counter with care, "Time for your lunch break, huh?"  
Marinette had a sheepish expression on her face. Manon knew better than to point it out.  
"I'll work through lunch today but-" Manon started.

Marinette waved the girl off with a flick of her hand. "I'll pay you double for the lunch rush, but you are going to have to be the cashier. I doubt you can finish both projects by quarter-past."  
A look of dismay flashed through Manon's eyes but, begrudgingly, she nodded her approval.

Marinette, finished with Manon, walked to the kitchen, taking her mask, and a discreet Tikki with her.  
When she reached the door that led to the room, she clapped her hands, reclaiming her authoritative _Don't question my actions_ aura, and shot a pointed glare at Manon.

"Get," she snapped, "Go on, Serve the next customer."  
Manon's head snapped back to the register, behind which a tall statuesque woman stood, glaring at her impatiently.

After having taken her order and pointed to the nearest table, Manon glanced back at the door, assuming Marinette would be watching from the corner, but the lady had vanished into the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long, I was feeling pretty creative today. Enjoy, also Happy New Years!

The lycée’s annual Ladybug celebrations had been going on for fifteen years now, but this was her first time getting involved. As in, other than being Ladybug involved. Marinette walked the newly iced cupcakes to the school. It was a quick walk, five minutes at most.

“Marinette!” A voice called when she entered the school.  
“Monsieur Damocles!” Marinette exclaimed, putting the cupcakes down on the floor to hug the man.

Breaking the hug, Mr. Damocles spoke, “It’s so good to see you again, my star student, how was China?”

Marinette’s stomach flipped, overwhelmed with the nostalgia that was hitting her now that she was back in this school and with her old sixth-grade teacher no less. Mr. Damocles was her grade six teacher, before he became Principal of the school a year later, and here he still was.  
“High School and University were good, I ended up getting a masters in culinary school.”  
“Oh?” said Mr. Damocles, “I thought you were going into the fashion industry.”  
Marinette sighed, thinking back to her 12-year-old self’s whims. “No, I realized that with a career in fashion I might end up not having much of a future, and anyway, I love the kitchen more than I ever loved the needle and thread.”

Mr. Damocles nodded, “I understand, I for one wanted to be a superhero twenty odd years ago, but with Ladybug here now, I see that I wouldn't have been worth a cent next to her.”

Marinette chuckled and picked up the cupcakes, “Wanna point your star student in the direction where I should put these?”

A smile bloomed on the old man’s face, “Go out in the courtyard, there should be a table, on the left, that has _Baked Goods_ written on a sign above it.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said. She had pushed the door leading outside when she heard her old school teacher again.

“Oh and Marinette-?”  
“Yes?” She returned, her hand on the door.  
“Did you find your soulmate in China?”

Marinette frowned. “No Monsieur Damocles. No, I did not.”  
“I'm sorry,” she heard faintly as she walked out the door.

The courtyard was busy, packed with happy children and their smiling parents. She found the table and put down the cupcakes with a sigh.

A tall woman with glasses and with her soulmate in arm walked up to the table.  
“Hey, do you guys want cupcakes?” Marinette said.

The woman looked over at her soulmate, who nodded, and handed Marinette a ten dollar bill.  
“Ma’am,” Marinette said, pushing the bill back into the woman’s hand, “everything here is free, Ladybug’s request. I can't accept this.”

The woman smiled at her. “Think of it as a welcome-back gift between friends.”  
“Pardon me?” Marinette replied blankly.  
The woman’s soulmate, a dark-skinned man with blocky glasses and a baseball cap. “You are Miss Dupain-Cheng, right? Or is Dupain-Cheng your maiden name, or are you someone else completely? In which case, we're very sorry to have bothered you.”  
“Yeah, _Miss_ Dupain-Cheng. That's me.” Marinette grimaced at the maiden name comment. So she wasn't married and so she hadn't found her fated, why rub it in?

The man either ignored her discomfort or didn't notice. “Good to see you again Marinette. If you don't recall, I'm Nino Lahiffe and this,” he said, kissing his soulmate on the cheek, is your bestie for life, the former Alya Césaire, my wife, Alya Lahiffe.  
Marinette’s eyes widened with recognition and she ran around the table. “C’mere babe,” she said and wrapped her arms around Alya.

Once the embrace was over, Alya pulled back and looked Marinette dead in the eyes.  
“Girl, I missed you so much. The last time I saw you was when you left twenty years ago.”  
“How come I never bumped into you?” Marinette asked, leaning back on the table.

“Well,” Alya laughed and hooked an arm around her husband’s waist. “we went to London to get married; it's really different from here, they have a western-like style; we loved it. So we lived there for two years. We only moved back because of this one.” Alya rested a hand on her slightly protruding belly.

“Congrats,” Marinette smiled.  
“Thanks, girl. You have a little one yet?”  
Marinette’s smile disappeared. “No, not yet.”  
Alya looked like she was going to ask another question but was elbowed by Nino. He whispered something into her ear. Marinette took a step away to give them privacy. However, she caught four words, _“Alya, she’s like Adrien.”_

A few moments later, Alya’s breezy voice invited her to roam the courtyard with them. Marinette, after turning to a parent volunteer to make sure they could handle her booth, obliged and fell into step beside Alya.  
“Did I miss much?” Marinette said, a grin playing at her lips.  
“Did you ever!” Alya laughed.

  
~

  
“-and remember how Chloe would always force Nathaniel to avert his eyes when she passed?”  
“Yeah,” Marinette said, “We all thought she had a superiority complex or something.”  
“Well that may be true but it turns out-”  
“-they were soulmates the whole time.” Nino blurted.  
“Hey,” Alya pouted, “I wanted to tell her."  
“You can still tell her, sweet,” Nino said, planting a kiss on top of her head.

Alya pushed him away, grinning, and not for the first time, Marinette was jealous of their soulmate connection.  
They played around for a bit, kissing; poking; laughing until they remembered that Marinette was third-wheeling and quit their flirting.  
“So,” Marinette asked as the couple calmed down, “who’s Adrien?”

Alya glanced at Nino who nodded her on.  
“So you heard us huh? Adrien is, hmm how do I put this? You remember when you loved fashion and designing and such? Gabriel Agreste was your idol. Adrien is his son. He’s kind and smart, and you can just tell that he cares in everything he does but yeah, he’s the son of the cold designer.”

Marinette nodded.

“And he attended our school the year after you left. He uh-” Alya froze.  
Nino grabbed her hand and squeezed it, “He also hasn't found his soulmate yet.”

Marinette gestured for him to continue but it seemed as though Nino was done talking and Alya had clammed up.

“Well,” Marinette said, trying to break the awkward tension that filled the air between them. “I hope I get a chance to meet this _Adrien Agreste_ , um, you speak very fondly of him.

With that, Alya was back to being herself and she smiled a wide grin, “Really? You might meet him today, he said he was going to come.”  
Marinette smiled and the three of them moved over to topics that didn't hit so close to home.

  
~

  
The sun had set and the crowd was gradually shrinking. Marinette held up a finger to her friends and opened her phone. _5 missed calls from Manon,_ but more importantly, it was _19h18._

“Guys,” Marinette said, tapping the shoulders of the couple, I have to go, I left my apprentice alone at the bakery and I have to finish icing Alix’s aunt’s cake for _dix-neuf heures et demi_ ”

Alya and Nino wished her a rushed goodbye with a promise to stop by the bakery, to catch up some more, in the coming days, then Marinette ran off to the table to pick up her empty cupcake containers. She nodded a quick thanks to the parent who’d run the booth for her, then made a dash for the steps to the door leading back to inside the school.

She had two hands on the door’s _Pull_ bar and one foot on the step. The other foot dangled next to the staircase, the step being too small for her to have both feet and a bag of four cupcake containers. Unfortunately, without her hands on the rails and her foot on the stairs and also because the handlebar was slippery, Marinette lost her footing and, to the horror of the person standing behind her on the stairs, fell.

Two strong hands were at her back and Marinette opened her eyes, no longer bracing herself for impact.  
One hand grabbed the bag of containers while the other continued to steady her  
“You okay, Miss?” A silver ring on her saviour’s index finger gleamed from the moonlight reflecting off of it.

Marinette took a breath, “Yeah, I'm okay”  
She pulled the door open and held it for the man. “You know Miss, it's not good to carry things while going up stairs, you could get injured.”

Marinette thought about every time she went shopping and brought things up to her personal kitchen, her bedroom or anywhere in her house other than the main-level bakery.  
“Sure.” She took her bag from his hand and walked towards the door leading to Rue Gotlib.  
“Thank you, uh-”  
“Adrien, Adrien Agreste.”  
“Thank you, Mr. Agreste,” Marinette said, smiling up at him.  
Blue eyes met green and a connection was realized. Adrien opened his mouth wanting to tell her how long he’d been waiting for this day to come, for her to come but before he could the door was open and Marinette was gone.

Adrien was not one to be easily beat and he ran through the door after her but when she couldn't be found in the street ahead he gave up. He retreated back into the school, disappointed but also overjoyed, whispering ' _Soulmate'_ under his breath, over and over again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's up late, It took me a while to type it all up. Anyways, Enjoy!

Marinette's run out that door, across the street and into her bakery took 45 seconds, if not less. And when she entered, she pushed out her thoughts and drowned herself in her work.

Manon watched her with curious eyes as she decorated the entire cake, top to bottom with elaborate designs and flourishes in 5 minutes flat.

"Wow," Manon said, impressed, "you sure pulled out all the stops on that one."

Marinette looked at the girl, tears brimming in her eyes and said, "Give this to Mr. Kubdel with orders to refrigerate until served."

Manon moved towards her, "Marinette, are you okay?"  
"Manon," the woman said sternly, "You give that cake to Mr. Kubdel, and then you lock up okay? I'll see you in the morning."

Manon took a step back, "Yes, Ma'am," she said, and then she watched as Marinette's tears overflowed an event that was promptly followed by her disappearance up the stairs.  
Manon thought about her as she tied up the station, Marinette had never left the room in the bakery without asserting her authority or making Manon remember she was just an apprentice, not to mention in tears.

When the doorbell chimed, she sent Mr. Kubdel on his way with the cake and got to work.

~

Ladybug barely felt the wind rushing past her. The night air was cold and harsh, and her fingers were rubbed raw from holding onto the yo-yo so tightly.  
That said, the sting from her fingers dimmed in comparison to the way her head pounded with confusion, betrayal and her soulmate bond pulling her in two different directions.

"Tikki," she sobbed into the night, "what did I do?"  
She came to a rest on a chimney, "What did I do to deserve this?" she cried, "Live for so long thinking something is wrong with me because I didn't have a soulmate, then find him, just to realize something is still wrong with me because I have two!"

"Why," she whimpered, standing up and taking off towards home, "Isn't fate on my side? I'm the Lucky Ladybug after all, why do _I_ have to I go through this?

Ladybug continued to sob and yell until she reached the balcony.

"Tikki, detransformme moi," she said in a weak voice.

Marinette didn't greet the kwami with cookies or a smile or with a greeting at all. When her transformation dropped, she walked into her room and collapsed on her bed.  
Tikki flew around Marinette's ear saying, "Marinette are you okay, Marinette-" to which Marinette ignored.

"Marinette," Tikki's warm, motherly voice repeated into her ear, "I could feel your distress while you were in the suit, what's wrong?"

Marinette pushed Tikki away from her ear with a feeble flick of her hand.  
"Marinette, talk to me."

Marinette reluctantly turned to face her, "Tikki, I-" she said, her voice no louder than a whisper, "I found my soulmate."  
Tikki beamed, "Great!"  
but Marinette wasn't done.  
"I found him, and then I found another one."  
and Tikki beamed again. "Great!" she repeated.

Marinette looked at her, perplexity flashing in her watery blue eyes.  
Tikki smiled at her, "All Ladybugs have two soulmates, depending on how you look at it, It was very odd that you hadn't even found one, but then, I suppose, Soulmate magic has a way of working out."  
Marinette shook her head, still confused, "So you mean I'm supposed to have two soulmates?"

"Yes, you are."  
"And what do I do, choose between them?"  
Tikki grinned, "Yup, you get to choose which one you like better and see if they accept you back."

"What do you mean, _see if they accept me back_?"  
"Your soulmates have two soulmates too, and they also get a choice."  
"Oh," Marinette said, wiping the remainder of the tears away with the back of her hand. "So it's completely normal for Ladybug to have two soulmates? Like completely ordinary?"  
"Yep," Tikki said brightly.

"Oh, then I already know which one I pick, and it's not _Mr. Emerald-Eyes and Cat-Ears Macaron thief_."

"Who's your other soulmate Marinette?"Tikki asked, smiling.  
"His name is Adrien Agreste, I fell on him on the stairs today. Funny story actually-"  
Tikki's smile faded. "Adrien Agreste, the son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste?"  
Marinette gasped, "You know of him?"  
Tikki didn't answer, instead, she let out a slew of colourful curses and grumbled, "I know I was passed down but Plagg should've known better than to-"  
"Who's Plagg?"  
"Only the dumbest thing alive," Tikki seethed, "Marinette, there's a problem with your soulmate situation after all."

The tears that had dried on Marinette's face were replaced with fresh new ones that fell from the girl's bluebell eyes.

"Dammit Tikki, my life just _has_ to be messed up, right?" Marinette's wet eyes twinkled with realization. "It's all your fault," she fumed, "It's your fault I'm Ladybug so it's your fault I have two stupid soulmates! Damn you!"  
Tikki held very still and let Marinette yell her attacks at her."  
"Marinette," she said calmly, once the girl had finished her fit, "Our problem is not that you have two soulmates, nor is it that you are Ladybug. Our problem is _who_ your soulmate i- pardon, who _one of your soulmates is_."

Marinette sat up and rubbed her eyes, "What wrong with him?"

"Adrien Agreste is the child of your mother's soulmate."  
Marinette paused, "My dad?"  
"No Marinette, he was your mother's choice soulmate. I'm talking about her true soulmate, Gabriel Agreste."

"I'm not sure if I believe you Tikki, but if so, what's the problem with that?"  
"Because your mother had the same soulmate situation as you, but she had already chosen and she was supposed to marry Gabriel Agreste."  
"You mean to tell me that my Mother was a Ladybug too?"  
"Hush," Tikki said harshly,  
"And," she continued, "if she didn't it means that there must have been a problem with Gabriel. I can't remember though, she must have spelled me..."  
"So Gabriel broke her heart and she chose her other soulmate, my dad, right?"  
"No," Tikki said in a voice so loud it could have been considered a shout, "Tom was her choice soulmate."  
"So why didn't she just accept her other soulmate?"  
Tikki shook her head.  
"I really don't get you Tikki, if I can't accept Adrien, I'll just pursue Mr. Macaron Thief."

Tikki shook her head again, "You can't do that,"  
"An why not?" Marinette challenged.  
A sigh echoed across the room. "What if I told you that you only have one soulmate."  
"I wouldn't believe you. For one, I've already met both of them and for two, it would mean that you lied to me, again."

Tikki frowned and tried another approach, "I have a proposal."  
"Shoot."  
"We live our lives like usual until I can find out why your mother didn't marry Gabriel. If we're lucky, it'll be something small, _like infidelity_ , and Adrien is safe. For the meanwhile though, you would pretend you don't have a soulmate and move away from Paris temporarily."

"For the meanwhile," Marinette echoed. "just how long is 'meanwhile'?"  
Tikki shrugged, "Couple months, maybe a year and a half at most."

"Nope," Marinette said, picking at her nails, "Too long."  
"I can't make it take less time Marinette,"  
Marinette shrugged, "Here's a proposal for you. I pursue my soulmates as I see fit for a year and a half with no commitment: no marriages, no engagements, during which time you find out what happened between my Mom and Gabriel."

"Marinette, I can't allow you to pursue Adrien Agreste,"  
"Then I'll pursue Mr. Macaron Thief!"  
"You can't pursue him either," Tikki insisted.  
"Marinette turned on her, "Is he _your_ soulmate?"

"No, but-"  
"I think I should get a say in who I get to pursue and who I don't."

Tikki sighed, "Fine, you pursue whoever the hell you want to, but if I find out that things are foggy with Gabriel-"  
Marinette's eyes widened at Tikki's use of _hell,_ but she continued on, "I'll choose Mr. Macaron Thief."

Tikki closed her eyes trying to calm herself, and let out a second sigh but didn't speak another word and Marinette, before rolling under her covers and drifting back to sleep, realized that for the kwami's silence, she was grateful.


	6. Chapter 6

Business was booming in the bakery the next day. Marinette sent customers off with loaves of bread and smiles on their faces as well as with sugar cookies. _Maybe,_ Marinette thought, _her luck was finally improving?_

A familiar voice rang out in the shop and Marinette hastily threw off her apron and ran to the door.

"Alya, Nino, you stopped by!" she said, walking them to an offensive-looking table and chair set.  
"How's life been?" She asked as she pulled a chair from another wretched-looking table to sit on.  
"Not bad," Alya said, looking over at the register, "Is that Manon?"  
Marinette nodded, "She's my apprentice."  
"She's always been very good with cooking and baking, hasn't she Nino?"  
"Yeah, I think she made gingerbread cookies for our class when we graduated, they were good!" he hesitated, putting his baseball cap on the table to scratch his head. "Not as good as your folks' obviously but-"

Alya cut him off, "Speaking of which, where are your parents?"  
"They were killed in the first Akuma Attack."  
Nino shot Alya a glare that said _Watch your words you good-for-nothing journalist_ and sent Marinette a much softer look.  
"I'm sorry for your loss, Marinette."  
She nodded, "Yeah, me too."

Alya sat there frozen in shock, then turned to Nino and tried to whisper but Marinette could hear everything. "First the soulmate thing and now her parents, it's so tragic."  
Nino shook his head, "Who do you think you are looking down at other people's lives and calling them tragic. C'mon babe, you're better than that."  
Alya flushed red, and caught Marinette's gaze, "I'm sorry that this happened to you."  
Marinette nodded again. "Treats, anyone?"  
Marinette's breezy tone seemed to put Alya back at ease.

"Yes please, you guys still have those mouth-watering macarons?"  
Marinette shook her head, "Sorry Alya. I recently had my entire macaron supply reduced by about 75%. How about some Madeleines instead?"  
Marinette brought the second-choice treats to the table.

"So," Alya said, stuffing her mouth with three of the small cakes at once, "What's up with the macarons?"  
Marinette explained it all from the way the man had come into her bakery stuffed all of the macarons they had on the shelf, which were supposed to last them a couple days, into his briefcase then ran off. She was about to get to the soulmate part when Nino's phone rang. He looked at it, apologized and said he had to take this, then left the bakery.

"And then what?" Alya prodded.  
"And then I locked eyes with him and realized he was my soulmate."  
Alya screamed. "Did you talk to him?"  
Marinette frowned, "No, I don't even think he noticed and once I realized, he'd already disappeared over the wall."

Alya slunk back into her chair, "Tough luck, girl. The next time you see him-"  
Marinette shrugged, "I would be super excited about finding Mr. Masked Macaron Thief if I hadn't met Adrien last night."  
"What about him?"  
"He's my soulmate."

A silence passed over the table. Alya broke it.  
"Uh Marinette, you're not making sense."  
"Alya, I have two soulmates."

"No one has two soulmates."  
"I do."

Alya opened her mouth, then closed it. Then, after a moment, opened it again. "So," she said breezily, as though having two soulmates was something that she heard about every day. "Which one are you going to pick?"  
Marinette hesitated, on the one hand, she wanted to say Adrien Agreste because he was hot and was nice about her falling on him and you know, _hadn't stolen her macarons._  
But on the other hand, Adrien could just as easily be the kind golden boy that he seemed to be as he could an evil minion of his father's. And the masked macaron thief's eyes were gorgeous, better than Adrien's by tenfold which, to Marinette for whom the eyes were the most important (looks-wise) part on a person, made him even hotter than _the_ Adrien Agreste.

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

Alya just quirked an eyebrow at her and stood up. "Well, Marinette, it's been good hanging out with you, give me your phone, I'll input my number."  
Marinette handed her the phone and they exchanged numbers and promises to meet up again soon.

Alya picked up her bag and slipped on her scarf, then picked up Nino's forgotten baseball cap and walked with Marinette toward the bakery door. Once they reached it she said, "Have fun with you soulmate troubles, Mari. Remember, if you need support or anything, Nino and I are just a phone call away."  
Marinette smiled and gave her friend a hug before waving her goodbye and watching her walk to embrace Nino, who was still on the phone, from behind, grab his hand and lead him to their grey Mazda 3.

She let out a sigh as they pulled away and walked past the counter into the kitchen to find the thief's mask, and, against her better judgment, rubbed it against her face, her nose relishing the man's musky scent.

"I deserve to be happy too," Marinette whispered to herself, "right?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Alya," Marinette called from the newly-painted kitchen. "you guys have any ginger?"  
Alya walked into the kitchen, her hand on her belly. "Why do you need ginger, Mari?"  
Alya was just over 3 months along now, and the baby was growing well, healthily. Marinette was obviously the main candidate for the baby's Godmother, and if one counted how many croissants Alya was given, Marinette could probably double as hers too. For the two women, it was like they'd spent only a day apart, they were that close.  
"I wanna make ginger tea."  
Alya snorted, "You come over for a girl's night and the first thing you want to do is drink ginger tea. Classic."  
Marinette shrugged, "It's not like I'm having wine alone, and you can't have any because of little one over there so yeah, I wanna drink ginger tea."  
She opened another cabinet door but faced bowls and plates, not ginger.

"Firstly, we keep our ginger in the fridge. And secondly-" she added quickly when Marinette made a dash for the fridge, "we're out. If you want, we have instant tea mix in the cupboard."  
Marinette shook her head, "Nah that's okay. I like my tea homemade, I'll just have water."  
"Homemade tea? Snob much," Alya giggled.  
Marinette punched her arm and grabbed a glass from the dish rack. She put it below the fridge's water dispenser.

When the glass was full, she linked elbows with Alya and they made their way to Alya's living room.

"So," Alya said, picking up the remote, and sinking into the sofa. "What do you watch?"  
"What's playing on the screen now," Marinette asked. She laid her glass down on the table in front of her and looked at the screen through half-shut eyes. "It looks good."  
"It's the news."  
"I like the news," Marinette insisted.  
"Sure you do Miss Sleepy Eyes. I was planning on watching the annual junior baking competition, but if you think we should watch the news instead."  
Marinette's eyes flew open, "No let's watch that."  
"It's alright if you don't want to Marinette. I'm totally cool with-"  
A loud extremely high pitched voice from the television interrupted her teasing, _"A generous donation to the children's shelter has been made. Recently, citizens of Paris were informed that the shelter would not have its annual Easter egg hunt due to lack of money and support for the idea. The mayor of Paris stated that and I quote << Money should be used elsewhere. Why provide the homeless children of Paris sugary treats when the money could be used for public transportation or, better even, social assistance so these children do not end up on the streets in the first place. >> While his view is very popular in the city, even his supporters argue that they want the money they donate to the shelter to be put towards the children there rather than the rest of the population. When asked about this-"_

Alya sighed and switched the channel, "Girl, I swear, if I had to hear another second of that woman's obnoxious voice again, I'd murder someone."  
Marinette nodded, "Yeah-" but she felt an odd sensation that made her want to change the channel back. She pushed it down.  
"So Alya, when does the competition start?"  
Alya smiled at her and checked her phone. "Now." She switched the channel to The Food Network and pulled a bag of tortilla chips from underneath the coffee table.

_~_

Adrien pointed to the telly, "I did that. Oh, and did I tell you that she was so beautiful. I think it was my beauty that scared her away. We beautiful creatures aren't used to meeting others who are like us. A real shock."

"You've been gushing about her all night, Shut up about her for a moment." Nino paused, "You're telling me you're the one who donated those macarons to the children's shelter?"  
Adrien smiled and laid his head back on the Chesterfield, "I didn't want the generic Easter eggs, but I thought coloured macarons would be good"  
"I don't know dude, it's not like they can do a macaron hunt."  
"True," Adrien said, "but maybe it'll push others out of their comfort zones and get them to donate too. Plus, you know how I feel about spending too much on food without quality."  
Nino sighed, for someone so wealthy, Adrien was ridiculously frugal.  
"How much did you pay for them? On the telly, it seemed like 75 macarons at least, and those things aren't cheap."  
"Nothing, I uh- borrowed them from a friend."

Nino grabbed the converter out of Adrien's hand and switched off the telly, _ _why the hell did Adrien enjoy watching the news so much?__ , then turned to his misguided friend, a frank expression on his face.  
"Adrien, you can't walk into someone's bakery and nick their food, for the greater good or not."  
Adrien shrugged and tried to take back the converter, "The baker seemed to have a lot going for her, she was pretty and owned her own shop, she also had an apprentice who she treated like sh-"

"And that means you can steal her hard-earned money."  
The model put his hands up innocently, "Hey, I just took her macarons, I didn't take any money."  
"But you made her lose money because she couldn't sell those macarons." Nino's voice rose to a yell, "Do you ever think about anything but stealing from those who are supposedly in power and giving to the helpless. Do you ever think for a second that people who are doing decently are doing so not because they have malicious intentions or are cheating themselves up the ladder your dad did but are actually putting effort into their business?"  
"Calm down man. Chill."

A recent conversation flooded his thoughts

_" -you have any more of those mouth-watering macarons?"_  
_Marinette shook her head, "Sorry Alya. I recently had my entire macaron supply reduced by 75%." she smiled widely, but Nino saw the flicker of anger she hid beneath the grin. Had someone stolen her macarons, and if so, what with that glimpse of anger? "How about some Madeleines instead?" her breezy voice spoke._  
_After Marinette explained a bit, Nino thought he understood, she had seen the thief and hadn't been able to catch him. What he didn't understand the double mask thing. His phone rang, jostling him out of his thoughts and he excused himself and left the bakery._  
_"Hello, Nino Lahiffe speaking, how may I help you?"_

"Adrien, did you steal from Marinette's bakery?" Nino's voice was oddly calm.  
Adrien looked confused, "Who's Marinette?"  
"A blue-haired, blue-eyed chick."  
Adrien seemed to think for a bit, "The only girl I can think of like that is my soulmate."  
Nino shook his head, "Shut your trap about your supposed beautiful soulmate for a second. I'm serious. Did you steal from some blue haired girl's bakery?"

"Yes, I did. What's it to you?"  
Nino got up from the Chesterfield, "That's my childhood friend you stole from. That's not right Adrien."  
Adrien seemed apologetic for a moment, and then all traces of remorse fled. "What so now that one of my targets is your friend you get all pissed about it and throw a hissy-fit. You're letting your emotions overtake you, as usual. You never tell me this about anybody else that I've borrowed from."  
Nino spat, "I tell you the same thing every damn time Adrien. Every damn time."  
Adrien shook his head but stood up to look at Nino, eye to eye. "Fine. I'm sorry for stealing from her, Nino."  
"Why are you telling me this? You saying 'sorry' to me means nothing. Be a man and tell her yourself."

Hesitation washed over Adrien's face but reluctantly, he made the way to the door to his flat. "I'll go now."  
Nino fell back onto the Chesterfield, "You should and Marinette's nice. Don't nick stuff from her again. Also, I wish you the best of luck."

Adrien smirked, "If she doesn't fall under my charm I just might need it, otherwise, keep your luck."  
Nino shook his head, "I'll be here when you get back," he called as the door closed.

~

Fifteen minutes of the scripted baking competition later, Alya was dozing off. Marinette shut the television off and shook her shoulder gently to wake her up.  
"Alya,"  
"Yeh?"  
Marinette stood Alya up and walked her to her bedroom. "I'm gonna leave now Alya, I had fun, thanks for tonight."  
"No wait, let me get my coat. I'll drive you home."  
Marinette chuckled, "It's alright. I'm only a - what - fifteen minute walk away right? I'll be good."  
Alya nodded as she fell back asleep. Marinette pulled a blanket over her then left the apartment.

She zipped up her coat while she was in the elevator and wondered how long it would take her to run home.


	8. Chapter 8

Marinette closed the front door behind her with a 'click' and hung up her coat on the rack behind it.  
"Tikki, I'm home!" she sang.

"Please be quiet," a small voice cried, "Marinette I'm upstairs, and I'm tired. Keep it down!"  
"Sorry!"

Marinette crept upstairs and walked into the apartment's kitchen. She rummaged around in the cupboard and found some chocolate chip cookies leftover from the bakery, put them on a plate and took a carton of milk from the fridge.  
"Tikki," Marinette called, keeping her volume to a low, "I've got a snack for you."  
Marinette opened the trapdoor carefully to find her kwami sound asleep.

"More for me then," Marinette said to herself as she pushed open the balcony door.

There were two chairs on the balcony and a short table upon which she laid the cookies and milk. The railing shone in the moonlight, a potted plant had its wines entwined around a beam, making the balcony really feel like a whole other world.

A shadow fell over the balcony, then landed with a soft thud. Marinette fell back into the chair, surprised. The shadow was none other than the masked man who'd stolen her macarons. He only had the one mask on his face this time but he had a new addition, a silver staff with green pawprints that matched his gorgeous eyes.

He seemed taken aback when he saw her, but he eventually regained his composure and looked her in the eyes. "Hi, Marinette."  
Marinette smiled, half-disappointed-half-glad that it was dark so he couldn't see the blush that was spreading over her face.

"Uh- I'm sorry for stealing your macarons, I mean you could have sold them or eaten them yourself and I took them without payment or thinking about how it would affect you at all."

Marinette nodded.  
"And," The man fidgeted with his staff and scratched the back of her head, "I think we're soulmates."

"Yes." Marinette said, not getting up from her seat, "We are. But I also have another soulmate, Adrien Agreste, and I'm not sure why I should let you court me instead of him."

The man appeared to be deep in thought, "Because I stole your heart when I stole your macarons?"  
Marinette's blush deepened, "I don't know about that. You only stole a piece of my heart at most."  
"Maybe it was a big piece?"  
Marinette shook her head.  
The man sighed, "How about I court you and find reasons while I do. That way I can get to know you better and you can get to know me better and we can figure out what to do."

Marinette shrugged, "Convince me that I should go along with your plan."  
The man looked uncomfortable, hesitant.  
"Hey," Marinette said, trying to make him feel at ease, "Sit, let's talk." She motioned to the chair beside her and he sat down.  
"So," she said, handing him a cookie, "what's your name?"  
"You can call me Chat des Bois."  
"What, you don't trust me with your real name? Or your face for that matter?"  
The man shrugged, "I'm kind of like Ladybug, I can't tell you my name or show you my face, but for me, this is my true identity."

"No problem," Marinette said. She was kind of upset with herself for not realizing earlier. Here was a man with a mask just like hers and an identity to conceal. He obviously had a miraculous as she did. If anything, this meant he was a better candidate for her to choose than Adrien.

"Once again, I'd like to say that I'm really sorry for stealing your stuff. I swear when we're together no-"  
"You know what," Marinette interrupted, putting her finger on his lips, "enough convincing, you can court me."  
His eyes glowed gold, but only for a second, then they turned back to normal, which made Marinette think that she'd only imagined it. "W- what about Adrien?"  
"I choose you, you seem more my type." her eyes bore into his and she was pleased when his gaze skittered down to the floor.  
"Oh," was all he said as a reply.

"I mean, if you don't want me, I can choose Adrien instead," she added quietly when he wouldn't meet her eyes again.  
Chat des Bois grabbed her shoulder and looked into her eyes, "No, I want us to work. Don't choose the boring, perfect angel,"  
"Don't be like everyone else," he added under his breath, just loud enough that she heard it but quiet enough that she assumed she hadn't been meant to hear it.

"Okay," Marinette said. Obviously, he had some self-confidence issues, but so did she. They could work it out together.  
"C'mere Chat," she said, hopping out of her chair to pull him into a tight embrace.  
He was stiff at first but quickly melted into the hug. When she pulled back, he walked over to the railing and said, "I'll see you tomorrow?"  
"Same time?"  
He paused, "No, I'll meet you in the bakery."  
"Where we first met? Cheeky."  
He chuckled; a warm, soft laugh that made her insides tingle.

"Hey," she called to him, "It's alright if I call you Chat, right?"  
He eyed her and pointed to the plate of cookies, "If I can take those, you can call me whatever you want."  
Marinette giggled and ripped open the now-empty milk carton, she stacked the cookies inside and folded the carton back. "Here, Chat."  
He flashed her a thankful smile and took the cookies into one hand before extending his staff so as to push himself over the railing. And then, with a wink of his emerald green eyes, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There may not be a post tomorrow as I'm working through some applications and stuff but that means there will be a longer than usual chapter on Monday. Anyways, Please like and comment, it makes my day!


	9. Chapter 9

Marinette woke up very early the next morning. She didn't groan when she was getting out of bed, nor did she boss Manon around with the usual amount of snappiness. She laughed a lot and skipped around, whitling upbeat pop songs as she baked; humming _What Makes You Beautiful_ with the financiers and belting out _Four Leaf Clover_ with her new batch of macarons.

She smiled widely when she saw the first customer approaching the door and wiped her hands on her aprons before flipping the sign over to _Yes We're Open!_ and opening the door for her.  
"Good Morning," she beamed, "and welcome to Tom and Sabine's." Not even hearing herself say her late parents' names could dampen her mood.

She walked with the customer to the register and positioned herself behind the counter.  
"How can I help you today?"  
"I'll have a decaf-mocha and a butter-pecan tart please."  
She put a tart fresh out of the oven in a bag and she took a travel mug, the ones she usually has customers pay for, filled up the woman's coffee, and ignored the sting that she felt when it overflowed a little and hot coffee spilled on her fingers.  
"Here you go, ma'am," Marinette said, handing the woman her coffee and tart.  
"I don't want to pay for the mug." The woman said blankly, "rather, I didn't ask for it."  
"It's on the house, have an incredible day and come back soon!" Marinette slid a receipt and a dollar too many in coins over to the woman on the other side of the counter.  
"God bless you, dear." the woman said, picking up her change and receipt. "God bless!"

The door shut and the bells that hung near the top corner rang a loud and happy _ding-ding_ that only raised Marinette's spirits.

A smile on her face, she retreated into the kitchen. She smelled an incredible odour wafting through the air. "Oh!" she exclaimed to herself, "my muffins!"  
Manon, who was supposed to take the muffins out of the oven, was on the bench at the workstation, knocked out cold. The older woman set down the muffins and hoisted the teen over her shoulders. She lugged her up the stairs then rolled her gently onto her parents' bed. A wave of nostalgia passed over her and she felt sick. She ran out of there, just after she draped a blanket on Manon and turned on the room's heater.

Just as her feet hit the bakery floor again, she heard a door chime. Two familiar faces appeared in the room.  
"Chloe, Nathaniel!" Marinette cried. She ran out and hugged Nathaniel, then gave Chloe a kiss on each cheek.  
"Marinette," Nathaniel said, "how lovely to see you again."  
"Same here," she looked between the two, they made a beautiful couple. Chloe, obviously, was the elegant beauty of the two, she'd only grown into her looks better as she aged and Nathaniel was the handsome, stylish type that you'd expect from a prince or the soulmate of the self-proclaimed Princess of Paris. "I-is there something you need?"  
Chloe sighed dramatically, "Oh, I simply must have your strongest tea. I've a splitting headache."  
Marinette smiled and brought Chloe a hot tea, then asked again. "Is there something you two need?"

Chloe glanced at Nathaniel who nodded. "We'd like to speak to you without interruption, please."  
Marinette walked over to the front door, flipped the sign back to _Sorry, We're Closed_ and led them upstairs quietly, as not to wake Manon.  
Once they were all comfortably seated at the kitchen table, Chloe began to explain.  
"You probably know that we're soulmates. We are very deep in love and," she blushed deeply holding up her hand with a very large diamond stud plastered on the ring finger, "we're engaged."  
"Congrats!"

"Thank you. Anyways, we were wondering if you'd be up for catering our wedding or at least doing the cake."  
Marinette smiled, "Of course, I'll cater and bake your cake, Nathaniel has always been a friend, and you are a friend starting now, and I'll bake anything for my friends, so consider it done."

Chloe nodded but didn't get up. "We have a few ideas, Nathaniel brought a sketchbook but then realized he's trash at filling in the blanks, especially for cakes.  
Nathaniel elbowed her. "I realized that I should probably leave the baking and cooking stuff to the person who studied it in university."  
She snorted then turned back to Marinette, a goofy grin that seemed to fit as though it was her resting face, spread across her sharp and elegant features. "We've already decided on having a vanilla cake."  
"Oh is that so?"  
Nathaniel shook his head, "Chloe," he said, "I thought you said you'd be okay with a strawberry-flavoured cake."  
"I said I'd be okay with it, not that I want it."  
Marinette sighed and took the sketchbook from Nathaniel, she would make them the perfect cake as promised, starting from what flavour the cake was supposed to be, moving up, maybe to how many tiers they wanted it to have, from there.

"Are you sure you don't like the idea of a mango cake Nath? It seems so exotic."  
"It seems so not us, Chloe, maybe we **should** go with vanilla, sweet like you, but plain like me."  
Chloe shot Nathaniel a look and Marinette sighed, _This was going to be a long night._

~

In the end, the two agreed on something. They agreed that they shouldn't be choosing the cake flavour at the first meeting with the baker. They left the patisserie, telling her they'd be back in a week or two when they decided on the cake flavour or the wedding date, whichever came first, and arguing about whether or not Nathaniel was as plain as vanilla cake.

The sun had long set and Marinette was yawning, ready to fall asleep. She nearly collapsed into her bed but then she remembered his promise to her and rushed down to the bakery, flipped the sign over to _Yes, We're Open_ and waited.


	10. Chapter 10

He didn't show.


End file.
